Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Ameren (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,984 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,268% compared to the average volume of 126 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $117.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.30.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total transaction of $673,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,002,673.60. This represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 19.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 42.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 22,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 6,772 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 11.7% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 25,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 88.4% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE AEE opened at $110.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Ameren has a 52 week low of $91.77 and a 52 week high of $113.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.76. The company has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.56.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 16.55%.The company had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 56.07%.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.